How can I get a colonoscopy if I don’t have a ride?

[Anonymous]

My husband just left and took an uber home. No one said anything or followed up with him. I’m a rule follower and wasn’t happy but he was fine and home in 10 minutes.
I was supposed to pick him up but he finished earlier than expected and didn’t feel like waiting around for me. I was teaching a class and couldn’t be there for another 30 minutes or so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband just left and took an uber home. No one said anything or followed up with him. I’m a rule follower and wasn’t happy but he was fine and home in 10 minutes.
I was supposed to pick him up but he finished earlier than expected and didn’t feel like waiting around for me. I was teaching a class and couldn’t be there for another 30 minutes or so.

Similar experience here — it is essentially the honors system at my doctors office. DH went to the building lobby to make a call and I picked him up from there. Drs office said nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, they aren't liable if you don't get a colonoscopy. Pre-COVID where I live not only would they not start the procedure without an adult in the waiting room, they would stop the procedure if they realized that person had left the waiting room during it. During COVID I just had to say who the person was a give a phone number...they asked that they stay within a 15 minute travel distance.

I like the ideas others have given of asking acquaintances to trade favors. Offer to do it for someone else, or to drive them to the airport early, or something similar. A friend of mine in California paid her cleaning lady to do it.

Also, you could see if they would do the procedure without sedation. DH hardly responded to the sedation at all because he was already taking Xanax, so he basically had a colonoscopy and endoscopy sober. He said he wouldn't do it again by choice, but it wasn't terrible. Frankly, if you've given birth I'm sure that was 20x worse.

I was allowed to leave but had to stay very close to

[Anonymous]

I did mine without sedation and was allowed to drive home alone immediately after the procedure.

[Anonymous]

I used a concierge service; they often take people to and from medical appointments. It was about $200.

[Anonymous]

It's like this for any procedure involving anesthesia these days. I had a uterine polyp removed and they required my husband to be present in the waiting room starting at check-in 2 hours before the procedure until I was discharged. I was at an oral surgeon yesterday for a consultation and noticed the same requirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can also do Cologuard if you are low risk! Much simpler, and the overall outcomes (prevention of death from colon cancer) is the same.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can also do Cologuard if you are low risk! Much simpler, and the overall outcomes (prevention of death from colon cancer) is the same.

+1

Just stop. A second-degree relative who died from colon cancer is not low risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend lives out of state. She’s early 50s and hasn’t had one yet, and I’ve been encouraging her to get one. She finally found a friend to give her a ride home, but then the dr’s office told her that person has to sign something agreeing to stay with her the whole day—and she’s not comfortable asking someone to do that. So she still hasn’t done it.

That’s crazy. Your friend needs to shop around for another provider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can also do Cologuard if you are low risk! Much simpler, and the overall outcomes (prevention of death from colon cancer) is the same.

i don’t think I’m low risk. Family history of polyps . Grandfather died of colon cancer

And my Dr said they have both false pos and neg results so they are useless.

You do not understand medicine, or statistics.

I guess you mean my Dr does not ...his opinion seems to be shared by many.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend lives out of state. She’s early 50s and hasn’t had one yet, and I’ve been encouraging her to get one. She finally found a friend to give her a ride home, but then the dr’s office told her that person has to sign something agreeing to stay with her the whole day—and she’s not comfortable asking someone to do that. So she still hasn’t done it.

That’s crazy. Your friend needs to shop around for another provider.

+1
That’s not the norm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can also do Cologuard if you are low risk! Much simpler, and the overall outcomes (prevention of death from colon cancer) is the same.

i don’t think I’m low risk. Family history of polyps . Grandfather died of colon cancer

And my Dr said they have both false pos and neg results so they are useless.

You do not understand medicine, or statistics.

I guess you mean my Dr does not ...his opinion seems to be shared by many.

DP. All you have to do is google it to learn why it’s not optimal for someone with a family history.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is so sad about our culture that people have to usu a stranger for this small favor.

(I am single, so I get it, but we are not as “rich” around here as we like to believe 🙁)

Why do you think this is unique to our culture? I've lived abroad where people hire drivers for this sort of thing. And it's not inherently sad.

That said, I suggest OP either use medical transportation or just ask around. It can be hard to find people that don't have to work though.

In many cultures (non-Western), families live in close proximity, neighbors all know and help each other. The US is much more individualistic (vs collectivist).

This.
It is a different sort of wealth, out of reach in an individualistic society like the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did this when I moved to a new town and literally did not know anyone to ask. I used a paid nonemergency medical transport. It was expensive, but it was a good option. They do not allow Ubers or similar, and it was reassuring to know that my ride home was somebody who had done this kind of thing a million times.

After an operation, I actually would have felt safer in a medical van with a professional who knows how to move people and keep them from falling and has a wheelchair to use than with my family.

But a colonoscopy is not an operation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some doctors will provide colonoscopies without sedation - it's somewhat briefly painful at times, but not too bad. You must make clear arrangements ahead of time. Be prepared for them to possibly try and convince you to have sedation when you arrive.

My husband had an unsedated colonoscopy in his home country. I think that's why he's now stalling from having one here

My DH is an anesthesiologist, and he chose to get an unsedated colonoscopy.